2011 FOX 36 Talas Forks

Unless you've had your head in the sand lately, you would know that FOX Racing Shox has released their 2011 fork line up and it's available in limited numbers over the counter from switched on retailers. I was lucky enough to receive my forks at the end of May, so I've had a month or so to put in some winter mileage on them. You can get the full tech low down from http://www.foxracingshox.com/

First impressions always come from putting the forks on the scales and I was amazed to find that the 'Talas' fork has lost over 400grms in the 2011 model. Also the new 'Kashima' coated fork legs look way trick and really stand out from the older models. The first ride was spent riding easyish terrain and the compression felt just a little on the harsh side and the rebound kind of slow compared to my 2010 models, that admittedly had had the full treatment internally to make them perform at their full potential. I put the harshness/slowness down to the newness of the forks, air temperature being about 6 Celsius and the fact that the new suspension fluid is a heavier viscosity than in past forks. After another ride in more technical terrain with a few medium sized jumps and drops, I knew that I had some tinkering to do to get them to respond to my liking.

I removed the lower legs and drained the factory splash lube and replaced it with a new mix I've been working on for the past year. I didn't want to go into the new inverted cartridge at this point and wanted to see what effect just changing the splash would have. I've set the forks up with 45psi in the air chamber and both the rebound and low speed compression on full fast. The forks are working extremely well now, most noticeably plusher and at the same time more controlled, than my 2010 models in landing drops and hitting the backs of rocks and large tree roots. It will be interesting to see if a change in splash lube is needed when the weather gets warmer again. The new two stage 'Talas' is just fine and really all that is needed and I've even used the lockout a couple of times on smooth road sections during my rides, just to reassure myself that lockouts are really strange on a 160mm travel fork. Maybe I'll use it when I'm riding down to the shops.